The Significance of Dragons in Western Art

Dragon Fresco
Source: MET Museum

A few days ago, I wrote about Paolo Uccello’s famous painting Saint George and the Dragon. I like that painting in particular because it includes a rather ferocious looking dragon. As a person who grew up reading fantasy novels, dragons have always had a special place in my heart, and they are also prevalent in art; I talked a little bit about the significance of dragons in my post about Uccello’s painting, but I want to go into more detail today.

I was inspired to write about this topic after I encountered the painting on the right on the MET Museum website. This dragon—which was a fresco in a thirteenth century Spanish monastery until it was removed to the museum—intrigued me. Although clearly recognizable, the dragon is somewhat abstract, tending toward the clean, geometric designs that characterize arabesque art, a style that emerged during the Moorish occupation of Spain.

In interpreting the fresco, the MET Museum notes, “medieval beasts, whether real or imaginary, were often imbued with symbolic meaning...It is not always possible, however, to reconstruct their specific intention in a given monument, and such beasts could be for ‘aesthetic delight,’ as one thirteenth-century archbishop commented.”

This is certainly true of dragons in Western art. While dragons have meant different things to different groups of people over time, in Western art dragons were often symbols of evil or destruction. In Christian art, the dragon is often a stand in for the devil. This can be seen below in a statue of Saint Margaret of Antioch. The saint is depicted with a dragon at her feet, a symbol of her triumph over the devil.

Saint Margaret of Antioch
Source: MET Museum

However, it is not always possible to interpret dragons in such a black and white way. As the MET notes, the meaning of the dragon fresco is unclear. It is a fantastical image, entertaining and charming, with no hint of negative connotations. In other regions of Europe, the dragons are even more ambiguous. For example, the flag of Wales is dominated by a red dragon. What this dragon symbolizes is up to interpretation (you can read more about it here), but it certainly is not a symbol of evil.

Dragons were also an important feature of Scandinavian art. Famously, “Viking” ships featured beast figureheads, including dragons. One such dragon figurehead was found onboard the Oseberg ship (a Viking ship that was excavated in Norway). While it’s difficult to know what the Vikings thought about these dragonheads, it is thought that the dragon figurehead was intended to frighten away evil spirits and perhaps to denote the prowess of the owner of the ship. 

The Dragonhead from the Oseberg Ship
Source: Wikipedia

Whatever your interpretation of dragons in Western art, it is clear that they are an important part of Western culture, imbued with great symbolic meaning and fantastical mystique.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.